V. I. Lenin

Speech At The Extraordinary All-Russia Congress Of
      Railwaymen

December 13 (26), 1917

Delivered:13 of December, 1917First Published:27 December, 1917 inPravaNo. 214 andIzvestiaNo. 251.

      Published according toIzvestiatext.Source:Lenin’sCollected
      Works, Progress Publishers, Moscow, Volume 26, 1972,
      pp. 384-385Translated:Yuri Sdobnikov and George
      Hanna, Edited by George HannaTranscription & HTML Markup:Charles
      Farrell and David WaltersOnline Version:Lenin Internet ArchiveNovember,
      2000

Allow me to greet the Congress on behalf of the Council of
      People's Commissars and to express the hope that the
      organisation of the railwaymen will be conducted on the same
      lines as the vast majority of workers and peasants in
      Russia. There is no doubt at all that the October Revolution,
      carried out by the workers, peasants and soldiers, is a
      socialist one. It is opposed by all the forces of the
      bourgeoisie and the top salaried sections, who have grown
      accustomed to the old order and cannot understand that the
      revolution is going to remake the old system from top to
      bottom. Listen to their loud cries that Soviet power is
      repudiated by the majority in Russia. You know the worth of all
      this clamour. There is a flood of telegrams saying that troops
      are moving on Petrograd, against the gains of the October
      Revolution. We throw them into the waste-paper basket, being
      fully aware that we shall not have to wait long for a
      refutation. The top-drawer organisations of the First Peasant
      Congress, as represented by the Avksentyevs, said on behalf of
      the peasant mass that they were opposed to the rule of tyrants
      and usurpers. What we said was: “Let them curse, we shall
      see what the peasants have to say when we start confiscating the
      landed estates and giving them to the peasants.” As you
      see, the Second Peasant Congress has brought victory to Soviet
      power. We have established close contacts with the Second Soviet
      of Peasants' Deputies. It is with them that we have organised
      the Soviet power of workers, soldiers and peasants. We shall
      surely find the same attitude among the mass of railwaymen. You
      are aware that disruption of railway communications-aggravated
      by sabotage on the part of senior officials-is telling on the
      country. You are aware that a breakdown of railway
      communications makes impossible any balanced exchange between
      town and country, which is so vital to normal food
      supplies. Comrades, we need your help to get the railways
      going. Only by joining efforts with you can we overcome the
      disorder and strengthen the power of the workers, soldiers and
      peasants. Soviet power has no other support than that of the
      broad working masses. We are sure that the present Railwaymen's
      Congress will consolidate the power of the People's Gommissars
      by setting up an organisation that will help us in the struggle
      for land and peace. In conclusion, comrades, I extend to you
      once again our greetings and best wishes of fruitful
      work.(As Comrade Lenin leaves the hall, almost the entire
      audience joins in a burst of applause. To general applause, the
      Congress elects him honorary chairman.)